Heart of Raknor

"For an even better deal I would have to cut a hole in my chest"
coomon saying among Thyran salespeople.

Zusammenfassung

Long lost to the ages, the Heart of Raknor is still known to be one of the mighty artefacts in the lands around Thyra. Many myths and legends are woven around its origin, but few is actually known about where the heart came from and where it went.
Although having no connection to its body, the Heart of Raknor is said to never stop beating and to even have a will of its own. It is also said to have several powerful magical attributes which is why it has been desired by uncounted arcanists over the time who all failed miserably to obtain or to even find it.

Historische Grundlage

While the legends of Raknor are countless and more than one found its way into Thyra's folklore, there are two stories that are most commonly spread.
One Myth tells the tale of an ancient King who gave his heart as a pledge to an enamored war-goddess that, in exchange, granted him triumph over a superior army.
The second widely spread myth around the heart's origin is the story of a lich-queen who held the whole country within her powerful grip many ages ago. In an attempt to overcome the last limitations of her mortal body she is said to have repelled her heart magically however the highly experimental rituals failed and weakened Raknor so much that she could get overthrown eventually.
While all stories differ in their origin-stories, they all agree that after its separation from its body the heart was somehow obtained by Purastin, the infamous courtmage of Thyra's founding mother Lenya Irandris. Although it is documented by different sources that Purastin always carried the heart with him during the time of his work, it was nowhere to be found after his mysterious death.

Verbreitung

While lots of stories surrounding the Heart of Raknor are known among educated circles within the City of Thyra, they are mostly forgotten among the common folk with the exception of sayings which were handed down from one generation to another.